Lake County Port Authority takes over Coe site

The city of Painesville and the Lake County Port Authority announced Wednesday that the Port Authority has officially taken ownership of the former Coe Manufacturing site in Painesville.

Located on Bank Street, Coe Manufacturing had been a staple in the city since 1852 when Harold Hayes Coe and Leonard Anderson joined forces to form The Anderson and Coe.

They first manufactured steam engines and machinery for sawmills and grist mills and the company they founded grew for 146 years to the highly diversified, internationally known enterprise that was Coe Manufacturing Company.

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In 2009, the company was acquired by a competitor and the operations ceased in Ohio.

The Port Authority will commence with an environmental assessment and expect to have this step of the redevelopment process completed within 90 days.

Once the assessment is complete, the environmental clean-up of the site will begin, utilizing nearly $2 million in grant dollars the Port Authority received from the state in May.

The Port Authority is currently working with three companies interested in leasing the 200,000-square-feet of manufacturing and warehouse space on the 25-acre site and hopes to have the leases in place as early as possible next year.

"After 10 years of work by the city of Painesville and five years by the Lake County Port Authority, it is good to see this economic development project come to fruition," said Painesville Economic Development Director Cathy Bieterman. "This is a great example of the way a Port Authority can assist a local municipality drive a project forward that will result in new tax revenues and job growth."

John Loftus, the Port Authority's executive director, said if all three companies were interested in signing leases it could mean 200 jobs locating on the property, although not all of them may be new.

"The Lake County Port Authority is extremely grateful for the donation of land by USNR and appreciates all the assistance it received on the project from the Ohio Department of Development, the Ohio Water Development Authority, Jobs Ohio and the Lake County Commissioners," Loftus said.